Tsunami damage threatens progress toward MDGs in Maldives

Male’, Maldives, 17 August 2005 —Last December’s tsunami sharply magnified problems associated with polluted ground water and rising sea level in the low-lying Maldives according to a new report issued by UNDP.

“Besides destroying thousands of homes in the Maldives, the tsunami left many islanders with long-term pollution to their water supply,” said Kari Blindheim, acting UNDP Resident Coordinator in the Maldives. “Following the tsunami, emergency water and sanitation requirements were initially identified for 2,200 affected households but the long-term effect on ordinary islanders may be much greater than that.”

According to the report, which reviews progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the tsunami destroyed more than 90 percent of toilets on some islands. The tsunami wave contaminated the ground water with salt and washed fecal matter out of septic tanks and into the freshwater wells on many islands. Freshwater was forced up and out of some wells, while others were inundated with floodwater. Nearly eight months on from the tsunami, the problem is still a big one.

“There is an urgent need to establish proper sewage treatment and disposal facilities in the reconstruction process,” said Ms. Blindheim.

The problem has been further exacerbated by nearly 340,000 cubic metres of waste, some of it toxic, from damaged homes, which still sits rotting on many islands and seeps into the groundwater.

The islands that make up the Maldives are, on average, just 1.5 metres above sea level, and are considered highly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

“The tsunami highlighted how vulnerable the Maldives are to climate change – and how environmental sustainability needs to be a major focus for this country, at the foundation of national and local development policies and programmes,” said Ms. Blindheim. “If environmental issues are not addressed the consequences will be serious. Fisheries and tourism - the biggest earners for the economy—both rely on biodiversity and a pristine environment.”

The tsunami also had numerous other impacts on development in the Maldives.
“The tsunami destroyed the economic success we were having,” said Hamdoon Hameed, Minister of Planning and National Development at a meeting to discuss the tsunami long-term development impact today. “There is a need to address emerging disparities across the atolls.”

The report on the Millennium Development Goals says the tsunami has slashed estimated economic growth in the Maldives from 7.5 percent per annum to one percent for the coming year. Tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2005 were 44 percent lower than during the same period in 2004, severely impacting the national budget.

More than 6,000 houses were destroyed or damaged by the tsunami in the Maldives, and over 10,800 people in are in temporary shelter, awaiting permanent housing to be restored in the islands.

“UNDP is channeling grants directly to communities for repair and reconstruction of houses and to restore livelihoods on more than 70 islands, so life can get back to normal as soon as possible,” said Ms. Blindheim.

The UN says that the Maldives suffered relatively the most economic damage of all tsunami-hit countries. Total damage to the country from the 26 December tsunami is in the region of US$ 470 million – which is over 60 percent of its annual Gross Domestic Product. Over one third of the country’s population of 300,000 was severely affected through loss of homes, livelihoods or essential infrastructure.